Those cheap buses loading near 34th Street may be popular, but they’re also far more dangerous than a bus leaving from the Port Authority, according to a damning report released yesterday.
A study by the National Transportation Safety Board found that passengers on a curbside bus carrier are seven times more likely to be in a deadly accident than those on a bus that picks up at a terminal.
Bus lines like Fung Wah and Megabus load near busy streets like Canal and 34th Street.
The NTSB began the study after World Wide Travel, a line that picks passengers up off the street in Chinatown, crashed in March in the Bronx. The driver was reportedly speeding; 15 people were killed and 18 injured.
“The oversight of this industry has not kept pace with its growth, and the consequences have been deadly,” Sen. Charles Schumer said.
Megabus president Dale Moser told Metro the company supports any crackdowns — because they strive for safety, he said.
“There are bad actors that have been operating and have been noncompliant,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that because you’re a curbside operator, you fall into that bucket.”
Right now, no slots are available to load at the Port Authority, a PA spokeswoman said. Besides, Moser said, the added cost of paying for a slot might dribble down to customers.
“Right now, it currently works,” he said.
A BoltBus spokeswoman said 20 percent of their lines run through the Port Authority, and they are “fully focused on safe and reliable operations.”
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.
